Guernsey County well represented at Ohio Judicial Symposium on Opiate Addiction

Published: July 8, 2014 1:00 PM

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COLUMBUS -- Guernsey County was recently represented by a team of local officials led by Judge David A. Ellwood at the Ohio Judicial Symposium on Opiate Addiction presented by the Supreme Court of Ohio and the Governor's Cabinet Opiate Action Team. The event was hosted by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities in Columbus.

Nearly all of Ohio's 88 counties which were invited to the symposium were in attendance to hear about the program to provide Ohio courts with $33 million in resources during the next biennium budget of the State of Ohio and information to attack the opiate (heroin) addiction facing courts statewide.

On March 1, the Guernsey County Common Pleas Court initiated its CARE program and on July 1 the Cambridge Municipal Court initiated its HOPE program to address heroin and other drug addiction.

The so-called "poster child" of the state's program is Marian Riggs, 20, who died of a heroin overdose on Jan. 18, 2012 -- 18 months after becoming addicted to heroin.

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An added benefit of drug courts that are being created across the State of Ohio -- including in Guernsey County -- will be the anticipated reduction in repeat offenders and a reduction in prison and jail populations.

In recent years, the abuse of opiates in the form of prescription drugs and heroin has devastated Ohio's communities and families, and led to addiction, shattered lives and death.

Ohio is leading a coordinated assault on this epidemic by increasing collaboration among state agencies, creating public awareness and working to develop effective prevention methods, especially for the young people.

The purpose of the collaboration is to foster an exchange of ideas on the most promising judicial practices and options for treatment, including medication-assisted treatment, so local communities can implement plans to ensure that non-violent offenders with opiate addiction receive appropriate judicial and clinical interventions and services.

Participants were given time to discuss shared barriers and look for solutions for current issues facing criminal justice, judicial and treatment professionals in communities throughout Ohio, including Guernsey County.